599 F.

2d 518
4 Fed. R. Evid. Serv. 47

UNITED STATES of America, Appellee,

v.
Joseph Charles MILHOLLAN, a/k/a Alec Leroy Foltz,
Appellant.
No. 78-1643.

United States Court of Appeals,

Third Circuit.
Submitted Under Third Circuit Rule 12(6) Nov. 14, 1978.
Decided March 12, 1979.

Blair A. Griffith, U. S. Atty., James J. West, Asst. U. S. Atty., Pittsburgh,

Pa., for appellee.
George E. Schumacher, Federal Public Defender, Thomas S. White, Asst.
Federal Public Defender, Pittsburgh, Pa., for appellant.
Before SEITZ, Chief Judge, and GIBBONS and WEIS, Circuit Judges.
OPINION OF THE COURT
SEITZ, Chief Judge.

Joseph C. Milhollan appeals from his conviction on two counts of transporting

stolen money orders in interstate commerce in violation of 18 U.S.C. 2314.

* On September 22, 1977, a man entered the Security People's Trust Company
in Girard, Pennsylvania, and cashed two money orders drawn on the Travelers
Express Company, Inc., in the amount of two hundred dollars each. The man
had presented identification in the name of John J. Leehy, Jr., the designated
payee of the checks. Travelers later refused payment on the checks, which had
been stolen.

The day after the incident in Girard, Milhollan aroused suspicions at the

Warren National Bank in Warren, Pennsylvania, as he attempted to cash two

Travelers' money orders made out to John J. Leehy, Jr. When a summoned
police officer asked to see some identification, Milhollan fled on foot. He was
apprehended a short distance from the bank. During the brief scuffle, a brown
wig fell from Milhollan's head. The Warren police later conducted a warrantless
search of Milhollan's automobile and discovered various items introduced at his
trial on charges stemming out of the earlier incident in Girard. It is Milhollan's
conviction on those charges that forms the basis of this appeal.
II
4

Milhollan challenges several aspects of his conviction. He contends: (1) that the
district court should have excluded testimony about various identifications
made of him by employees of the bank in Girard; (2) that evidence of his
activities in Warren should not have been admitted at his trial for the incident
in Girard; (3) that evidence discovered in his automobile was inadmissible as
the fruits of an illegal search; (4) that he was removed from state custody in
violation of the Interstate Agreement on Detainers Act; and (5) that the
sentencing judge improperly considered a prior conviction reversed on appeal.

A.
5

At trial, three employees of the Security People's Trust Company identified

Milhollan as the man who had presented the stolen checks in Girard. Colleen
Cochran, the teller who cashed the two checks, had sought approval from
Douglas Nagle, a branch manager. Both Cochran and Nagle had observed the
man for several minutes. Debbie Smalley, another teller, had observed the man
for about one minute. Nagle was sufficiently suspicious to have Cochran record
the license number of the man's car.

Within a few weeks of the incident, the Chief of Police in Girard showed Nagle
a single black-and-white photograph of Milhollan taken upon his arrest in
Warren. When the Chief of Police asked Nagle if he knew who it was, Nagle
replied that the man looked familiar. Nagle further stated that the picture
looked like the man who had passed the stolen checks, but that the man's hair
had been different. The Chief of Police then confirmed that the man in the
picture was a suspect. When the Chief of Police showed the picture to Smalley,
she too thought it resembled the man sought for cashing the stolen checks.
Although testimony conflicts, the Chief of Police apparently did not show the
photograph to Cochran.

On October 25, 1977, Agent Kim Kelly of the Federal Bureau of Investigation

showed Nagle, Smalley, and Cochran a photographic spread of eight persons,

including the picture of Milhollan previously seen by Nagle and Smalley. Each
of the three witnesses picked Milhollan's picture from the display; each
commented on the difference in his hair.
8

On March 29, the FBI conducted a line-up for Nagle, Cochran, and Smalley.
Milhollan appeared with four other men similar in height, weight, age, hair
color, and eye color. The incident in Girard aside, the witnesses' only prior
exposure to Milhollan had been the two photographic displays five months
earlier. Nagle identified Milhollan as "awfully close" to the man in the bank,
again noting the difference in hair style. Cochran selected another participant as
having "much resemblance" to the man in the bank. Smalley initially identified
no one in the line-up, but then said that she believed Milhollan to be the man
who was in the bank.

The district court denied pretrial motions to suppress all identification

testimony. At trial all three witnesses identified Milhollan in front of the jury.
Cochran testified that she had chosen Milhollan's picture from the photographic
spread shown to her by Agent Kelly. She admitted that she had chosen the
wrong man at the line-up, but asserted that she was confused by the hair styles
and that Milhollan was her second choice. Nagle testified that he had identified
Milhollan on three prior occasions: when he was shown the single photograph,
when he was shown the photographic spread, and when he viewed the line-up.
Nagle admitted that his selection from the photographic spread may have been
influenced by his prior exposure to Milhollan's picture, but he insisted that his
initial identification of the photograph as well as his identifications at the lineup and in court were based on independent recollection. Smalley testified to her
identification of Milhollan at the line-up. She too insisted that her
identifications of Milhollan at the line-up and at trial were based on
independent recollection and not on pictures she had seen.

10

Milhollan argues that the photographic identifications were so suggestive as to

violate due process. Furthermore, he contends, those photographic incidents
tainted the subsequent line-up and in-court identifications. We will consider the
latter contention first.

11

All three witnesses testified to their participation in the line-up. All three also
identified Milhollan in court. Such identifications are admissible, even in the
face of earlier, tainted procedures, if the prosecution establishes by clear and
convincing evidence that the later identifications were based upon independent
observations of the defendant at the scene of the crime and not upon the earlier
procedures. See, e. g., United States ex rel. Carey v. Johnson, 462 F.2d 592,

593 (3d Cir. 1972). The inquiry in the case of an out-of-court identification is
whether the taint created "a very substantial likelihood of misidentification."
See Neil v. Biggers,409 U.S. 188, 198, 93 S.Ct. 375, 381, 34 L.Ed.2d 401
(1972). For an in-court identification, we must determine whether the
challenged procedures created "a very substantial likelihood of Irreparable
misidentification." Simmons v. United States, 390 U.S. 377, 384, 88 S.Ct. 967,
971, 19 L.Ed.2d 1247 (1968) (emphasis added).
12

Under these standards we agree with the district court that the line-up and the
in-court identifications were sufficiently independent of the photographic
displays to render them admissible regardless of the validity of those displays.
All the witnesses had adequate opportunities to observe the man in the bank.
When shown the photographs, all commented on the difference in hair style.
More than five months elapsed between the second photographic display and
the line-up. In the intervening months, the witnesses saw no pictures of
Milhollan. Aside from their observations in Girard, none had ever confronted
him in person before the line-up. Finally, all the witnesses testified at trial that
they based their identifications of Milhollan on their view at the scene of the
crime and not on any intervening events. Under these circumstances the district
court did not err in allowing either testimony about the line-up or in-court
identification of Milhollan. See United States v. Higgins, 458 F.2d 461, 465 (3d
Cir. 1972).

13

Turning to the photographic displays, we note initially that Debbie Smalley

never testified at trial to any identification of Milhollan prior to the line-up.
Only Cochran and Nagle mentioned their prior photographic identifications.
Cochran's testimony is similarly unassailable: the Chief of Police did not show
her the lone photograph. Without this prior taint Milhollan has no basis for
challenging her response to Agent Kelly's photographic spread.

14

Thus we must focus on Nagle's testimony. As noted earlier, he did testify that
he had twice identified Milhollan from photographs. The first procedure,
whereby the Chief of Police showed Nagle a single photograph, undoubtedly
was suggestive. We must determine, however, whether it was so suggestive as
to create a very substantial likelihood of misidentification. See Neil v. Biggers,
supra, 409 U.S. at 198, 93 S.Ct. 375. In Government of the Virgin Islands v.
Petersen, 553 F.2d 324, 327 (3d Cir. 1977), this court noted that an
identification based on a single photograph, although suspect, may be
admissible in some cases. We cited the frequent necessity for police to zero in
quickly on a suspect in a crime. Furthermore, we noted that circumstances
might indicate a substantial independent basis for the witness's identification.

15

In Petersen, the defendant was not at large at the time of the photographic
display, but rather had been picked up for questioning. Similarly, in this case
Milhollan was being held in Warren pursuant to his activities there. The police
sought to establish a preliminary link between Milhollan and the incident in
Girard. More importantly, Nagle, the most confident of the three identification
witnesses, demonstrated a solid independent basis for his identification. He
accurately described Milhollan as being about six feet tall, weighing 160 to 170
pounds, and having blue eyes. None of this data could have been determined
from the black-and-white, chest-up photograph shown to Nagle by the Chief of
Police. He also noted the difference in hair style when he saw the picture. We
conclude that the initial photographic display did not, in Nagle's case, create a
very substantial likelihood of misidentification. The district court did not err in
allowing the jury to evaluate its credibility.

16

Agent Kelly's photographic spread, on the other hand, may not merit similar
approbation. When Nagle viewed the second display he saw the same picture
shown to him a short time earlier by the Chief of Police. By that time he also
knew that the man in that picture was a suspect and was in custody. Nagle
himself admitted that his choice in the second display may have been
influenced by his prior exposure to Milhollan's picture. Under these
circumstances, we find objectionable any references at trial to Nagle's selection
in the second display.

17

We need not find, however, that these references merit a new trial. Even if the
display was unconstitutionally suggestive, testimony about the incident at trial
was, at worst, harmless error. Nagle's direct testimony about the second display
was brief and cumulative:

Q. Now have there been any identification procedures that you have undergone?
18
A. Yes. I've had three different occasions to identify the person involved.
19
Q. Could you explain what those occasions were, sir?
20
21 Yes. The first time the chief of police in Girard brought a photograph of the
A.
person involved into the bank, the second time the FBI showed us a photographic
spread, and the third time was in a line-up situation here in Erie.
Q. Have you always to your knowledge identified the same individual?
22
A. I believe so, yeah.
23
24

Milhollan's trial counsel cross-examined Nagle on the second display, pointing

24

Milhollan's trial counsel cross-examined Nagle on the second display, pointing

out that Nagle had seen the picture earlier. At this time Nagle admitted that the
earlier view may have influenced his choice in the second display.

25

Agent Kelly also testified about his photographic display. He noted initially
that Colleen Cochran had chosen Milhollan from the spread. Turning briefly to
Nagle's choice, Kelly continued:

Q. Did he pick a photograph?

26
A. Yes. The same Mr. Milhollan's photo.
27
28 Mr. Milhollan's photo, okay. Were either one of those individuals aware of what
Q.
the other one had done?
A. No.
29
Q. Or which photo the other one had picked?
30
A. No.
31
32

Again, defense counsel cross-examined on the use of the same photograph.

33

We must view this testimony in its proper context. Nagle identified Milhollan in
the first photographic display, at the line-up, and in court, all of which
constituted admissible evidence. Cochran's identifications, all admissible,
included a photographic display and an in-court identification. Smalley's
identifications, also admissible, included a line-up and an in-court
identification. Furthermore, and perhaps most significantly, Agent Kelly
offered unrebutted testimony that Milhollan confessed that he was the person
who had cashed the money orders in Girard. The admissible evidence of
Milhollan's presence in Security People's Trust Company on September 22,
1977, dwarfed references to Nagle's choice at the second photographic display.
We conclude that any constitutional error resulting from these references was
harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. See Chapman v. California, 386 U.S. 18,
24, 87 S.Ct. 824, 17 L.Ed.2d 705 (1967). See also Moore v. Illinois, 434 U.S.
220, 232, 98 S.Ct. 458, 54 L.Ed.2d 424 (1977).

B.
34

Milhollan contends that the district court erred in admitting testimony about his
attempt to cash money orders in Warren, Pennsylvania. In particular, he alleges
that this evidence was inadmissible under Federal Rules of Evidence 403 and

404(b).
35

Rule 404(b) generally precludes admitting evidence of other crimes or wrongful

acts "to prove the character of a person in order to show that he acted in
conformity therewith." Such evidence may be admissible, however, "for other
purposes, such as proof of motive, opportunity, intent, preparation, plan,
knowledge, identity, or absence of mistake or accident." We note in particular
the permission to use such evidence to prove identity.

36

Here, the identity of the individual in Girard was the most important factual
issue in the case. Milhollan had been apprehended in Warren the very next day
while attempting to pass money orders identical in amount, payee, and payor to
those passed in Girard. The numbers of the Warren checks followed
sequentially from those cashed in Girard. In Warren, Milhollan carried the
driver's license shown to Nagle in Girard. All this evidence is highly probative
of Milhollan's identity as the man who cashed the money orders in Girard.

37

Milhollan focuses on the testimony concerning his attempt to flee from the
bank in Warren. He argues that this evidence, in particular, is highly prejudicial
and is irrelevant to identity. The district court, however, received testimony on
the events in Warren as a whole. We cannot conclude that it erred in failing to
excise this portion of the testimony, especially in light of the trial court's
instructions cautioning the jury on the proper use of this evidence.
Furthermore, we note that Milhollan's flight revealed his use of a wig, an
important fact buttressing the identifications made by Nagle, Cochran, and
Smalley.

38

Milhollan also contends that the district court erred in failing to perform, on the
record, the balancing required by Rule 403. That Rule offers a catchall
exception to admissibility where the evidence, although relevant, is so unfairly
prejudicial as to outweigh its probative value. At no time, however did defense
counsel mention Rule 403 to the district court. In United States v. Long, 574
F.2d 761, 766 (3d Cir. 1978), we held that a defendant must specifically invoke
Rule 403 if he wants the district court to perform the requisite analysis on the
record. "(W)here Rule 403 is not invoked, the trial judge's balancing will be
subsumed in his ruling." Id. Here, as in Long, we recognize the "highly
subjective factors" that undergird a decision to admit evidence, Id. at 767, and
find no abuse of discretion. In this case the district court did not err in admitting
evidence concerning the events in Warren.

C.

39

Milhollan claims that the police in Warren illegally searched his automobile
after his arrest, and that the district court should have suppressed the fruits of
that search.

40

A teller at the Warren National Bank alerted police to Milhollan's attempt to

cash suspicious money orders. Officer Norman Shattuck approached Milhollan
and asked him if he had any identification. Milhollan replied that he had left his
identification in his car. Almost immediately, he began to run in the direction of
a public parking lot a few blocks away. Shattuck apprehended Milhollan after a
brief chase, at which time a wig fell from Milhollan's head. When Officer
James Leichtenberger arrived at the scene he transported Milhollan to the
police station. Meanwhile, Shattuck returned to the bank and recovered the
money orders that Milhollan had attempted to cash, both payable to John J.
Leehy, Jr.

41

At the station the police searched Milhollan and discovered that he was
carrying a driver's license and a social security card in the name of John J.
Leehy, Jr., as well as a set of car keys with a dealer's tag marked "Gold Capri."
Leichtenberger returned to the area where Milhollan had been apprehended and
found a gold Capri parked in the public lot. Looking through the window of the
car, Leichtenberger saw on the front passenger's seat a police-scanner radio, a
book of police call numbers, and a map of Pennsylvania. In the back seat he
saw a blue satchel. Leichtenberger then radioed his sergeant and asked him to
come to the scene. While he was waiting, he tried one of Milhollan's keys in the
door of the car and found that it fit.

42

When Sergeant Uruy arrived at the lot, he instructed Leichtenberger to drive

the car to the police station, impound it, and search it. This search revealed a
temporary registration card for the car, a wallet bearing identification for one
Alec L. Foltz wrapped in a rag, and a loaded pistol. The satchel, which
apparently had been closed but not locked, contained $2,400 in cash and
twenty-two Traveler's money orders payable to John J. Leehy, Jr., in the
amount of $200 each. Everything found in the car, except the pistol, was
admitted at Milhollan's trial.

43

Milhollan contends that the warrantless search of his car was illegal.
Furthermore, he argues that the search of the satchel was illegal regardless of
the legality of the intrusion into his car. We reject both of these contentions.

44

The police may conduct a warrantless search of an automobile whenever two

factors are present. First, the police must have probable cause to believe that

the automobile contains articles subject to seizure, including evidence of a

crime. Second, the justification for the search must arise suddenly and
unexpectedly. United States v. Vento, 533 F.2d 838, 866 (3d Cir. 1976). See
also Chambers v. Maroney, 399 U.S. 42, 47, 49-52, 90 S.Ct. 1975, 26 L.Ed.2d
419 (1970). Once these conditions are fulfilled, the police are free to search the
car immediately or to seize the car and search it at the station house. Either of
these courses of action is constitutionally permissible. See Chambers v.
Maroney, supra, at 52, 90 S.Ct. 1975, 26 L.Ed.2d 419; United States v. Vento,
supra, at 866.
45

Here, the police had probable cause to believe that Milhollan's automobile
contained evidence of an attempt to pass stolen or forged money orders. The
bank was wary of the money orders from the beginning of the transaction.
When Officer Shattuck asked Milhollan for identification, Milhollan responded
that he had left it in his car. Actually, as the police discovered immediately after
his arrest, Milhollan was carrying identification on his person, identification
corresponding to the designated payee of the money orders. Combining these
facts with Milhollan's flight and with his use of a wig, the police reasonably
could conclude that Milhollan was not John J. Leehy, Jr. Furthermore, given
Milhollan's initial reference to his car and the direction of his flight, the police
had probable cause to believe that evidence in his car would disclose
Milhollan's real identity. Such evidence, of course, would be highly relevant to
Milhollan's detention and ultimate prosecution on charges of cashing stolen or
forged money orders.

46

Nor can Milhollan argue that this probable cause did not arise suddenly and
unexpectedly. See United States v. Vento, supra, at 866-67. As in Vento, events
surrounding the arrest itself triggered the suspicion that the automobile
contained evidence. Coolidge v. New Hampshire, 403 U.S. 443, 91 S.Ct. 2022,
29 L.Ed.2d 564 (1971), where the police knew for some time about the role of
the automobile in the crime, is distinguishable. As we noted in Vento, Coolidge
does not control "where the occasion to search the vehicle arises suddenly."
United States v. Vento, supra, at 866. When such probable cause suddenly
crops up, the police need not freeze the situation while they secure a search
warrant for the automobile. They may search the car immediately or seize it
and search it later. See id.; Chambers v. Maroney, supra, 399 U.S. at 53, 90
S.Ct. 1975. Applying these standards we conclude that the search of Milhollan's
automobile was legitimate.

47

Milhollan contends that the warrantless search of the satchel found in his car
was illegal regardless of the status of the initial intrusion into his automobile.
He places primary reliance upon United States v. Chadwick, 433 U.S. 1, 97

S.Ct. 2476, 53 L.Ed.2d 538 (1977). There, federal agents had probable cause to
believe that a trunk contained drugs as it was being moved through a train
station. Nevertheless, the agents did not seize the trunk until just after it had
been loaded into the back of an automobile. The agents then took the trunk to
their headquarters where they conducted a warrantless search. The Supreme
Court held that this search was unreasonable in the absence of a warrant,
despite the mobility of luggage.
48

Before Chadwick, the federal courts of appeals generally agreed that police
entitled to search an automobile under Chambers could also search briefcases
and footlockers carried in that automobile. See United States v. Tramunti, 513
F.2d 1087, 1104-05 (2d Cir.), Cert. denied, 423 U.S. 832, 96 S.Ct. 54, 46
L.Ed.2d 50 (1975); United States v. Issod, 508 F.2d 990, 993 (7th Cir. 1974),
Cert. denied, 421 U.S. 916, 95 S.Ct. 1578, 43 L.Ed.2d 783 (1975); United
States v. Soriano, 497 F.2d 147 (5th Cir. 1974) (en banc), Convictions
summarily affirmed sub nom. United States v. Aviles, 535 F.2d 658 (5th Cir.
1976), Cert. denied, 433 U.S. 911, 97 S.Ct. 2979, 53 L.Ed.2d 1095 (1977);
United States v. Evans, 481 F.2d 990, 993-94 (9th Cir. 1973).

49

Since Chadwick, however, some courts have expressed hesitation about

permitting police to conduct such searches, especially where the suitcase or
trunk itself, rather than the automobile carrying it, is the target of the search
from the start of the investigation. See United States v. Stevie, 582 F.2d 1175
(8th Cir. 1978) (en banc); United States v. Fontecha, 576 F.2d 601, 603-06 (5th
Cir. 1978) (dictum); Arkansas v. Sanders, 262 Ark. 595, 559 S.W.2d 704
(1977), cert. granted, 439 U.S. 891, 99 S.Ct. 247, 58 L.Ed.2d 236 (1978).

50

We do not believe, however, that Chadwick controls here, since the Supreme
Court itself did not treat that case as one involving an automobile search. The
government had not asserted that the footlocker's "brief contact with
Chadwick's car" justified the intrusion under Chambers v. Maroney and its
progeny. See 433 U.S. at 11, 97 S.Ct. 2476. Nor did the Court suggest that it
was altering in any way the rules governing pure automotive searches. See
Rakas v. Illinois, 439 U.S. 128, 148, 152, 99 S.Ct. 421, 433, 435, 58 L.Ed.2d
387 (1978) (Rehnquist, J., for the Court and Powell, J., concurring); United
States v. Finnegan, 568 F.2d 637, 640-41 (9th Cir. 1977) (reaffirming United
States v. Evans, supra, after Chadwick ). Here, the police had probable cause to
believe that Milhollan's car, not a particular container in brief contact with
Milhollan's car, contained evidence of a crime. Their suspicions were not
localized; their search of the automobile was not a pretext for a search of the
satchel. They only knew that somewhere in Milhollan's automobile there
probably was evidence shedding light on his true identity. These facts bring this

case within Chambers and distinguish it from Chadwick.

51

52

Milhollan would have the police secure a search warrant permitting them to
open closed containers like his satchel. Unfortunately, once the satchel is
removed from the context of an automotive search, the police may not have
probable cause to support a warrant. They had no inkling that the satchel, by
itself, contained relevant evidence. They only knew that the car contained
evidence and that the satchel was in the car. Permission to search an automobile
is hollow indeed if it does not include permission to search its contents and
component parts. We see no difference of constitutional magnitude between
unwrapping the rag surrounding Alec Foltz's wallet and opening the satchel
lying on the back seat.
We hold that this automotive search, justifiable under Chambers v. Maroney
and United States v. Vento, legally could include a search of Milhollan's satchel
because the satchel's contact with the automobile was more than incidental and
because the intrusion into the automobile was not a pretext for a search of the
satchel. The district court did not err in refusing to suppress the fruits of that
search.

D.
53

While Milhollan was being held by Warren County authorities the federal
government lodged a detainer against him. Soon thereafter, using a writ of
habeas corpus ad prosequendum, the government took custody of him long
enough to arraign him on the present charges. They then returned him to state
custody. Later, Milhollan presented the district court with a letter from the
Department of Corrections of the State of Michigan asserting that Milhollan
had escaped from custody in that state and that he would receive credit on his
sentence for the time he was incarcerated in Pennsylvania. Milhollan argues
that these facts entitle him to the protection of Article IV(e) of the Interstate
Agreement on Detainers Act (IAD), 18 U.S.C.App. pp. 1395-96 (1976). If the
agreement does apply to Milhollan, the government's failure to prosecute him
before returning him to state custody might dictate dismissing the federal
indictment lodged against him. See United States v. Mauro, 436 U.S. 340, 98
S.Ct. 1834, 56 L.Ed.2d 329 (1978).

54

In 1970 the federal government became a party to the IAD. This agreement
governs the transfer of prisoners incarcerated in one jurisdiction, the "sending
state," to another jurisdiction, the "receiving state," for trial on charges pending
in the receiving jurisdiction. Although the IAD was intended to cure a number
of ills, Article IV(e) was intended to insure that the transferred prisoner would

be tried on the pending charges before being returned to the sending state.
55

Courts consistently have held that the IAD applies only to convicted prisoners
and not to pretrial detainees. See United States v. Harris, 566 F.2d 610, 613 (8th
Cir. 1977); United States v. Roberts, 548 F.2d 665, 669 (6th Cir.), Cert. denied,
431 U.S. 931, 97 S.Ct. 2636, 53 L.Ed.2d 246 (1977); United States v. Boyd,
437 F.Supp. 519, 520 (W.D.Pa. 1977). See also United States v. Dobson, 585
F.2d 55, 58 (3d Cir. 1978) (dictum). Thus Milhollan's detention in
Pennsylvania, by itself, did not trigger the agreement. Nevertheless, Article IV
purports to apply to any " prisoner" who is "serving a term of imprisonment in
any party State . . .(,)" a phrase that might include Milhollan's post-arrest
arrangement with the State of Michigan. Article IV also requires the receiving
state to file a demand with the state where the prisoner is incarcerated,
obviously Pennsylvania in this case. Neither Article IV nor the IAD as a whole
expressly requires the incarcerating, or sending, state to be the same as the state
where the prisoner is "serving a term of imprisonment." Thus, nothing in the
agreement itself precludes the interpretation sought by Milhollan.

56

Nevertheless, such a reading of the IAD would create a number of anomalies.

First, as Milhollan's case demonstrates, the receiving state cannot determine a
prisoner's status in any state except that in which he is being held. Milhollan
would have us dismiss his indictment even though he did not reveal his status in
Michigan until one month after his arraignment and return to Pennsylvania's
custody. Nor would any pre-trial detainee have incentive to reveal his status in
another state if the government's failure to discover that status could render the
indictment invalid.

57

Furthermore, Milhollan's reading of Article IV(e) would not serve that

provision's underlying policy, identified by this court in United States ex rel.
Esola v. Groomes, 520 F.2d 830, 836-37 (3d Cir. 1975). In that case we noted
that Article IV(e) was intended "to minimize the adverse impact of a foreign
prosecution on rehabilitative programs of the confining jurisdiction." As a pretrial detainee, Milhollan had little interest in Pennsylvania's rehabilitative
programs. As an escaped convict, Milhollan had no interest whatsoever in
Michigan's rehabilitative programs.

58

Given these considerations, we reject Milhollan's reading of Article IV(e) and

hold that he was not entitled to the protection of the Interstate Agreement on
Detainers.

E.

59

Finally, Milhollan contends that the sentencing judge did not consider that one
of Milhollan's prior convictions had been reversed on appeal. The record
shows, however, that the district court expressly disregarded that conviction in
sentencing Milhollan.

III
60

After considering each of Milhollan's contentions we conclude that none of

them merit reversal. The judgment and sentence of the district court will be
affirmed.
GIBBONS, Circuit Judge, dissenting:

61

On September 22, 1977, a man later identified as Joseph Charles Milhollan

entered the Girard Branch of the People's Trust Company and cashed two
money orders, each in the amount of two hundred dollars. He produced
identification in the name of the payee, John J. Leehy, Jr., and received
payment on the money orders. On the following day, Milhollan entered the
Warren National Bank, Warren, Pennsylvania, and attempted once again to
cash two money orders payable to John Leehy, Jr. On this occasion, bank
officials became suspicious, and alerted the police. Officer Norman Shattuck
arrived at the bank, approached Milhollan, and asked him for some
identification. Milhollan claimed that he had left his identification in his car.
Suddenly he fled, initially running north, then retracing his steps southward.
After a short pursuit, Officer Shattuck apprehended Milhollan, whose wig had
fallen off during the chase. He was immediately arrested and transported to the
police station by James Leichtenberger, an officer who had arrived on the
scene.

62

A station house search of Milhollan revealed a wallet containing identification

in the name of John Leehy, Jr. In addition, the police uncovered a car key on a
tag marked "Gold Capri." Officer Leichtenberger took the car key, and went off
in search of a gold Capri which he hoped to find parked somewhere in the
vicinity of Milhollan's arrest. The officer finally found a gold Capri in a
municipal parking lot approximately one hundred yards from where Milhollan
was arrested. Inside the car, Leichtenberger noticed a police scanner, a book of
police call numbers, a map of Pennsylvania and a blue satchel. Leichtenberger
radioed another officer, and, while awaiting his arrival, tried the key taken from
Milhollan and discovered that it opened the two locked doors of the Capri.

63

On the instructions of Sergeant Uruy the officer summoned to the scene

Leichtenberger drove the car to the police station, impounded it, and effected a
warrantless search of its contents. That search uncovered a temporary
registration card for the car, a wallet wrapped in a rag and containing
identification of an Alec L. Foltz, an automatic pistol, and a blue satchel. The
police then opened the satchel and discovered $2400 in cash as well as twentytwo money orders, each in the amount of $200 and made payable to John
Leehy, Jr.
64

Milhollan was charged under a two count indictment for causing forged and
falsely made money orders to travel in interstate commerce in violation of 18
U.S.C. 2314. At trial, he sought to suppress the evidence seized during the
warrantless search of his car, claiming that the search violated his rights under
the fourth amendment. The trial court rejected his contentions, and Milhollan
was duly convicted on both counts.

65

On appeal Milhollan contends that the warrantless search and seizure of the
contents of the blue satchel violated his fourth amendment rights defined in
United States v. Chadwick, 433 U.S. 1, 97 S.Ct. 2476, 53 L.Ed.2d 538 (1977).
Moreover, he argues that the initial warrantless search of the automobile
transgressed the Supreme Court's holdings in Chambers v. Maroney, 399 U.S.
42, 90 S.Ct. 1975, 26 L.Ed.2d 419 (1970), and Coolidge v. New Hampshire,
403 U.S. 443, 91 S.Ct. 2022, 29 L.Ed.2d 564 (1971). In a perfunctory opinion,
the majority rejects both contentions. It does so, in large part, by construing the
Supreme Court's decisions metaphorically, rather than recognizing in them a
consistent effort to preserve, where possible, the safeguards inherent in the
Warrant Clause of the fourth amendment. Because I do not share the majority's
apparent discomfort with the constitutional protections offered by the fourth
amendment, I respectfully dissent.

I. THE SEARCH OF THE SATCHEL

66

Milhollan contends that the police search of the blue satchel, which was closed
and placed inside the automobile, violated his constitutionally protected
expectation of privacy. Accordingly, he reasons, the trial court should not have
permitted the $2400 and twenty-two money orders to be introduced as
evidence. The majority rejects this argument, reasoning that any justification
for searching Milhollan's car must, in the absence of pretext, also apply to the
search of any of the contents of the car. Since, in the majority's estimation, the
initial automotive search was justifiable,1 and, moreover, since "the satchel's
contact with the automobile was more than incidental and . . . the intrusion into
the automobile . . . not a pretext for a search of the satchel," Opinion, Post at
527, the search of the satchel was permissible.

67

I confess at the outset that there is some support for the majority's position.
Justice Blackmun, in United States v. Chadwick, supra, 433 U.S. at 23 n.4, 97
S.Ct. at 2489, n.4, argued that "(t)he scope of the 'automobile search' exception
to the warrant requirement extends to the contents of locked compartments,
including glove compartments and trunks. . . . The Courts of Appeals have
construed this doctrine to include briefcases, suitcases, and footlockers inside
automobiles." Justice Blackmun's opinion embraced a "transfer theory" for
evaluating intrusions into closed luggage. That theory, which is
indistinguishable from the majority's, essentially asserts that any justification to
search a car is necessarily transferred even to closed items within it.

68

The catch, of course, is that Justice Blackmun's opinion in Chadwick was a

dissent. The Chadwick majority, on the other hand, resoundingly rejected the
broad exception to the Warrant Clause urged by Justice Blackmun. In
Chadwick, itself, the defendants were arrested outside a Boston train station
after having loaded a locked footlocker into an automobile trunk. The
defendants and the unopened footlocker were transported to the federal building
where federal officers effected a warrantless search of the footlocker. In so
doing, they uncovered a large quantity of marijuana. The court of appeals
sustained defendants' suppression motion and the Supreme Court affirmed,
holding that the search violated defendants' rights under the Warrant Clause of
the fourth amendment.

69

Writing for the majority, Chief Justice Burger observed, first, that

70 Court has recognized significant differences between motor vehicles and other
this
property which permit warrantless searches of automobiles in circumstances in
which warrantless searches would not be reasonable in other contexts.
71

433 U.S. at 12, 97 S.Ct. at 2484. Specifically, he noted, automobiles have an

"inherent mobility, which often makes obtaining a judicial warrant
impracticable." Id. Moreover, a "diminished expectation of privacy . . .
surrounds the automobile." Id. A car " 'travels public thoroughfares where both
its occupants and its contents are in plain view.' " Id. (quoting Cardwell v.
Lewis, 417 U.S. 583, 590, 94 S.Ct. 2464, 41 L.Ed.2d 325 (1974) (plurality
opinion)). "Luggage contents," on the other hand,

72 not open to public view, . . . nor is luggage subject to regular inspections and
are
official scrutiny on a continuing basis. Unlike an automobile, whose primary
function is transportation, luggage is intended as a repository of personal effects.
73

Id. at 13, 97 S.Ct. at 2484. In addition, the Court reasoned, the footlocker's

mobility does not justify "dispensing with the added protections of the Warrant
Clause." Id.
Once the federal agents had seized it at the railroad station and had safely
74
transferred it to the Boston Federal Building under their exclusive control, there was
not the slightest danger that the footlocker or its contents could have been removed
before a valid search warrant could be obtained. The initial seizure and detention of
the footlocker, the validity of which respondents do not contest, were sufficient to
guard against any risk that evidence might be lost. With the footlocker safely
immobilized, it was unreasonable to undertake the additional and greater intrusion of
a search without a warrant.
75

Id. (footnotes omitted). Thus, the Court concluded, there were no "exigent
circumstances" sufficient to override the defendants' privacy interest in the
contents of the footlocker.

76

In the instant case, as in Chadwick, the contents of the blue satchel possessed
all of the features of privacy elaborated by the Chief Justice. Moreover, with
Milhollan safely in custody, the only known key to the Capri in police
possession, and no known confederates at large, there was not the slightest risk
of the satchel's removal. Thus the essential features in Chadwick a greater
privacy interest and a lower mobility, or lack of exigency were firmly
established.

77

Yet the majority purports to distinguish Chadwick by pointing to the merely

"brief contact" that the footlocker in Chadwick had with the defendants' car. It
urges that, because of this "incidental" contact, the search in Chadwick cannot
be construed as an Automotive search, but rather must be seen as a separate
Search of luggage, a search which the government tried to justify by relying on
a novel exception to the Warrant Clause derived, by analogy, from the
"automobile exception." Insofar as Chadwick simply refused to Extend the
automobile exception in that fashion, the majority surmises that it did not affect
the legality of searches of items which are more than incidentally related to an
automobile. Hence, the majority concludes, the instant search of the blue
satchel, which transpired as part of an actual automotive search, is not governed
by the ostensibly limited decision of the Court in Chadwick. But surely this is a
distinction without a difference. The broad policies of privacy and immobility,
in terms of which the Chadwick Court generally distinguished luggage from
automobiles, apply to luggage of any sort, not simply that which has an
"incidental" relationship to an automobile. The distinction, for constitutional
purposes, between the contents of two satchels, one which was Just placed in a
car and the other which was Already there, is one I find altogether chimerical.

The Chadwick Court, I suggest, would be no less mystified.2 The same holds
true for most of the courts of appeals which have expressly considered this
issue.3
78

The majority is apparently uncomfortable with the distinctions drawn by the

Supreme Court between automobiles and luggage. Thus, it chooses, despite the
Court's explicit direction to the contrary, to import the rationale for automobile
searches into a domain where it simply does not fit. This effort at legal
gymnastics is attempted so that, in the majority's words, "(p)ermission to search
an automobile" is not rendered "hollow indeed. . . . " Opinion, Ante at 527. But
regardless of the majority's desire to assist in law enforcement, it efforts to
square a doctrinal circle particularly given the doubtful validity of the
"permission" to effect the initial search of the car4 is unjustifiable.

II. THE SEARCH OF THE AUTOMOBILE

79

As noted above, the majority's purported justification for the search of the
satchel derives from its view that the initial search of the car was proper. That
initial search, besides turning up the critical evidence found in the satchel, also
uncovered other items subsequently introduced in evidence against Milhollan.
The majority upholds this search, relying on the Supreme Court's decision in
Chambers v. Maroney, 399 U.S. 42, 90 S.Ct. 1975, 26 L.Ed.2d 419 (1970), and
the decision of this court in United States v. Vento, 533 F.2d 838 (3d Cir.
1976). It misreads those decisions.

80

In Chambers, petitioner was arrested after an automobile in which he was riding

was stopped by the police. The automobile was driven to the police station
where a thorough search of the car revealed certain incriminating evidence.
Petitioner challenged this search on fourth amendment grounds and the
Supreme Court upheld its constitutionality. Writing for the majority, Justice
White indicated, first, that "probable cause" is "a minimum requirement for a
reasonable search permitted by the Constitution." 399 U.S. at 51, 90 S.Ct. at
1981. Moreover, he noted, the fourth amendment has "(a)s a general rule, . . .
also required the judgment of a magistrate on the probable-cause issue and the
issuance of a warrant before a search is made." Id. That warrant requirement,
White continued, may only be suspended "in exigent circumstances." Id.

81

In the instant case, the majority fails to establish that either one of these two
prerequisites for a warrantless search has been satisfied. As evidence of
probable cause, the majority cites: the bank's suspicions of Milhollan;
appellant's response to Officer Shattuck, claiming to have left his identification
in the car; appellant's flight, ostensibly in the direction of his car; and

appellant's use of a wig. Plainly, the bank's suspicions have little, if anything, to
do with the issue; indeed, they would hardly suffice as probable cause for
Milhollan's Arrest, let alone for a search of his car. Similarly, appellant's use of
a wig at best supports the validity of his Arrest. It says nothing at all about
what might or might not be in his car.5 The same is true of Milhollan's claim to
have left his identification in the car. Indeed by the time the car was searched,
the police knew that the identification as John Leehy, the name used at the
bank, was in Milhollan's personal possession, not in the car. Finally, the
majority's reliance on Milhollan's flight as evidence of probable cause for the
search is also misplaced. The evidence adduced at the suppression hearing
indicates that Milhollan ran in at least two directions and, when apprehended,
was approximately one hundred yards from his car and about as close to the
bank as he was to the parking lot. N.T., Vol. 2, 169-70 (testimony of Officer
Shattuck); 153-54 (testimony of Officer Leichtenberger). From this rather
ambiguous data, the trial court found that Milhollan was "running towards the
car. . . . " Id. at 180. Significantly, the court added that this evidence "leads to
the inference he was trying to get away through the use of his car. . . ." Id.
From this inference, however, the trial court's conclusion that there was
therefore probable cause to search the car does not follow. Unquestionably, the
first instinct of virtually any pursued suspect would be to escape, preferably by
means of an automobile if one is available. The trial court so found. That
instinct toward escape, however, implies nothing at all about the Contents of
the car, except, perhaps, that there is gasoline in the tank.6
82

If the majority's attempt to establish the basis for probable cause emerges as
inadequate, so too does its labored effort to find the exigent circumstances
necessary to justify the circumvention of the warrant requirement. Neither
Chambers, nor Vento supports that circumvention. In Chambers, Justice White
held simply that where a suspect is arrested under circumstances which render
his automobile a "fleeting target," 399 U.S. at 52, 90 S.Ct. 1975, the
Constitution does not forbid the police from effecting a search of the car, even
after it has been brought down to the station house. Similarly, in Vento, this
court observed that there were specific exigent circumstances that required the
warrantless search: the car was stopped on a public street and was "easily
accessible to confederates." 533 F.2d at 866-67. Indeed, the Vento court
pointed to specific co-conspirators who might have otherwise been able to
tamper with the contents of the automobile in question. Id. at 867. In the instant
case, however, none of these exigencies exists. Milhollan was never within one
hundred yards of his car during the entire time of the police's intervention.
Indeed, at the moment of the search, appellant was safely tucked away in police
custody. Moreover, the government has never alleged that there were any coconspirators who might have had access to the Capri.

83

This case, insofar as the search of the car is involved, falls within the ambit of
the Supreme Court's decision in Coolidge v. New Hampshire, 403 U.S. 443, 91
S.Ct. 2022, 29 L.Ed.2d 564 (1971). There, petitioner was arrested, and his car
impounded and taken to the police station. Two days later, a warrantless
search7 was effected and incriminating evidence uncovered. Petitioner objected
to the search and the Supreme Court, in a plurality opinion, reversed.
Exceptions to the Warrant Clause, Justice Stewart observed, must be "
'jealously and carefully drawn,' (quoting Jones v. United States, 357 U.S. 493,
499, 78 S.Ct. 1253, 2 L.Ed.2d 1514 (1958)) and there must be 'a showing by
those who seek exemption . . . that the exigencies of the situation made that
course imperative' " (quoting McDonald v. United States, 335 U.S. 451, 456, 69
S.Ct. 191, 93 L.Ed. 153 (1948)). 403 U.S. at 455, 91 S.Ct. at 2032. The burden
to establish the need for an exception is placed on those who seek its favor. Id.
Stewart distinguished Chambers, emphasizing that in that case the automobile
was "Stopped on the highway," Id. at 460, 91 S.Ct. at 2035 (emphasis in the
original), and thus there were exigent circumstances that justified the
subsequent station-house search. In Coolidge, on the other hand, neither the
defendant nor his family "could conceivably have gained access to the
automobile after the police arrived . . . ." Id. The merely hypothetical possibility
that "(a) person who had the keys . . . could slip by the guard . . . (and) drive it
away" was regarded as of "no constitutional significance. . . ." Id. at 461 n.18,
91 S.Ct. at 2035 n.18.

84

Like the petitioner in Coolidge, Milhollan was in no position to tamper with the
contents of the automobile. The police had him in custody and had possession
of the automobile key. The majority reasons, however, that where the probable
cause to search "arises suddenly," no warrant need be obtained. Once again,
however, this reasoning misconstrues the case law. The Vento court, from
which the majority borrows the phrase "arises suddenly," used those words
simply to contrast the facts before it with those in Coolidge. 533 F.2d at 866. It
held that since the police in Vento could not be said to have delayed the search
until such time as no longer to have a justification of exigency, the Coolidge
situation was not presented. Significantly, however, the Vento court
specifically insisted that exigent circumstances be present. Thus, as I have
noted, the exigency requirement was satisfied in Vento by the potential
accessibility of the car to the defendant's known confederates. Id. at 866-67. By
effectively abandoning the exigency requirement, the majority today dilutes
whatever vitality the Warrant Clause may otherwise have had.

85

Eight years ago, in Coolidge v. New Hampshire, supra, Justice Stewart

reminded us that "(t)he word 'automobile' is not a talisman in whose presence
the Fourth Amendment fades away and disappears." 403 U.S. at 461-62, 91

S.Ct. at 2052. Today, the majority brings us an important step closer to the
renunciation of that reminder. It substantially exaggerates the basis for probable
cause, assumes, Ex nihilo, the exigent circumstances necessary to circumvent
the Warrant Clause and, finally, transfers those fanciful justifications to the
search of a closed satchel located within the car. Because I cannot indulge such
fictions, I would order a new trial.

But see infra at 531-533

Thus, for example, in his concurrence in Chadwick, Justice Brennan expressly

rejected the "transfer theory" endorsed by Justice Blackmun in his Chadwick
dissent and by the majority today
While the contents of the car could have been searched pursuant to the
automobile exception, it is by no means clear that the contents of locked
containers found inside a car are subject to search under this exception, any
more than they would be if the police found them in any other place.
433 U.S. at 17 n.1, 97 S.Ct. at 2486 n.1.

See, e. g., United States v. Stevie, 582 F.2d 1175 (8th Cir. 1978) (en banc);
United States v. Fontecha, 576 F.2d 601 (5th Cir. 1978) (dicta). But see United
States v. Finnegan, 568 F.2d 637 (9th Cir. 1977)

See infra at 531-533

See Dyke v. Taylor Implement Co., 391 U.S. 216, 221, 88 S.Ct. 1472, 1475, 20
L.Ed.2d 538 (1968) ("The cases . . . have . . . always insisted that the officers
conducting the search have 'reasonable or probable cause' to believe that they
will find the instrumentality of a crime or evidence pertaining to a crime before
they begin their warrantless search")

The majority implies in passing that Milhollan's possession of a police scanner

and a book of police call numbers somehow adds a further basis for the search
of the car. Opinion, Ante at 526. I need only note that the testimony of Officer
Leichtenberger effectively disposes of this contention
Q. And when you looked into the automobile while it was in the lot, you saw
the scanner?
A. Yes.
Q. Now is there anything illegal in having a scanner?

A. No.
Q. Is this, from your familiarity with scanners, kind of like the CB radios,
where a lot of people like to listen to police cars and therefore you have
scanners?
A. Yes.
Q. And in order to operate a scanner, isn't it standard operating procedure to
have the book that shows how to find the police calls?
A. When you buy one, they usually supply one.
N.T., Vol. 2, 155 (testimony of Officer Leichtenberger). The scanner and book
of call numbers are, in short, common hobbyist's items.
7

The search of petitioner's car in Coolidge was actually effected pursuant to a

warrant issued by the State Attorney General who was acting, pursuant to a
New Hampshire statute, as a justice of the peace. The Supreme Court found that
the Attorney General is not a "neutral and detached magistrate required by the
Constitution. . . ." 403 U.S. at 453, 91 S.Ct. at 2031. Thus, it held, "the search
stands on no firmer ground than if there had been no warrant at all." Id